Move Out Of The Way
by Vanille Strawberry
Summary: "I moved out of the way," Brittany murmured. "I want her to be happy. She's happy with you." Brittana Oneshot. Possible spoilers.


Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. Thanks for reminding me, twats.

A/N: I started this story last night and it just kind of took off. Spoiler content includes: spoilers as informed by Glee wiki. So, you've been warned. By the way I really hope that we get some brittana relationship by the end of the season- afores I end someone!

* * *

Move Out Of The Way

There she was. The new girl. The one who had followed her divorced father all the way from New York to settle in Lima Ohio and, by extension, their English class. Brittany glowered at her unabashedly even as she felt her boyfriend shift uneasily in his wheelchair at her side.

The new girl was sitting next to Santana.

"Hey, Britt? You ok?" Artie whispered uncertainly.

Brittany ignored him, opting instead to clench and unclench her hand around her pencil, teeth gnashing furiously as Santana laughed at something the new girl said. The new girl named Olive, who hadn't been afraid to announce to a flabbergasted Dave Karofsky that she was indeed gay and would not be 'going down on his lollypop' anytime soon. Brittany had found it amusing until Olive had taken the unoccupied seat next to Santana and her best friend had sent the New Yorker a charming smile, fingers twisting around strands of her own hair seductively.

Brittany's nostrils flared and Artie shot her a very concerned look. But he wisely decided against interrogating his already pissed-as-hell girlfriend, choosing instead to submerge himself in their textbook. They hadn't been on the best of terms as of late and he was desperately trying to smooth their rough patches as best he could. Adding fuel to the already climbing flames would not help his case. Silence seemed like the best course of action to take.

The new girl was touching Santana.

Brittany let out a low growl at the sight. Olive had one hand on Santana's arm as the Latina tossed her head flirtatiously, grinning at whatever is was the new girl was saying. The dancer felt a surge of white hot jealousy, so foreign but so powerful, erupt in her chest. She hadn't been able to talk to her best friend in days, hadn't touched her in what felt like years and this _stranger _had accomplished both in a matter of minutes.

The attention was called back as their English teacher began to question the class on last nights assignment, chatter trickling to a halt as all the students listened attentively. Artie tried to nudge the blonde to face front but she resolutely kept her body turned towards Santana and Olive, watching as the girls scribbled furiously on little bits of paper.

The new girl handed Santana a phone number in red ink.

Brittany's hand snapped the pencil in half.

* * *

Santana had tugged the new girl to Glee that afternoon and Brittany crossed her arms over her chest as she watched her friends welcome her into the group. Olive smiled easily at everyone, complimented Quinn's dress and sat next to Santana the entire meeting, head bent low to whisper into the Latina's ear.

The blonde found it infuriating. And Artie's hand on her thigh, coupled with the immense anger coursing through her veins at the sight of her best friend happily cuddling with someone else, had her uncharacteristically snapping at her boyfriend . With the entirety of the club's eyes on them both, Artie hastily retracted his hand and watched mute, as his girlfriend muttered darkly under her breath, head bent low and eyes hooded.

Their was a general silence as the members of New Directions stared at their resident-sunshine girl in confusion. Mercedes and Kurt's eyes boggled at the back of the dancer's head; Finn, Puck and Mike threw each other troubled looks; Tina, Quinn, Rachel and Lauren turned to mutter to each other about this new development. Santana on the other hand was silent, deathly so, even as Olive questioned her on what was happening.

Will, sensing dark clouds looming over his choir room, quickly dove into a long winded speech about Nationals and the incident was prudently put to rest for the time being.

As was usual for a new member, Olive stepped to the floor gingerly at Will's insistence and moved to whisper her choice to the band. Skip, the guitarist, grinned and turned to the other members excitedly before the first notes of the song drifted into the air.

Brittany gasped as Olive opened her mouth, knowing exactly what the girl endeavoured to do while singing such a song.

"I'll take you home if you don't leave me at the front door." Olive grinned. Brittany seethed in her chair. The rest of New Directions bobbed their heads and harmonized with the new girl. "You're body's cold but girl we're getting so warm."

It was quite a bold statement to be making for a first song. Brittany had to grudgingly accept that Olive was quite brave to be imparting such a message in foreign territory.

"Now she does it like this, well you do it like that! Now she touches like this, well you touch her right back! And now if she moves like this, well you move it like that, c'mon! Shake shake shake shake it!"

The dancer watched incredulously as her team mates flooded the floor to dance along with the New Yorker. Watched as Santana laughed and shot into Olive's arms and let herself be twirled and spun through the song. Brittany refused to move, even at Mike's insistent tug on her hand. She shook her head firmly and stayed rooted to her seat, watching the whole performance with contempt.

Santana's cheeks were split open in a wide grin as she sang, her hair whipping gracefully as she moved her body in time with the beat. She looked unencumbered, free - _happy _for the first time in weeks. Brittany had to admit that fact to herself sadly. But, watching the person she was in love with dance closely with another girl, the same way they used to, made her heart hurt. It faintly felt like she was being replaced by a newer model.

Closing her eyes against the tears, Brittany breathed out softly and stood from her seat, looping her bag around her shoulders and trotting out of the room before the song had even finished. She was sure no one had even noticed her leave, too absorbed in the music.

She spent the rest of the period wandering the halls aimlessly, wiping the tears with the back of a hand absentmindedly. The dull ache in her chest was easing and for that she was glad. But, as she turned sharply into a classroom for refuge, she wondered to herself whether this pain enveloping her body matched the pain Santana had been in when she had been turned down, albeit gently. She winced when she felt her already fragile mind stretch and threaten to tear under the onslaught of so many 'what if's'.

"Brittany?"

Brittany looked up and jumped with a start when she came face to face with her very surprised Biology teacher, Ms Martinez. The young woman was decked out in a lab coat, thick protective goggles and a pair of latex gloves to match on her raised hands. Brittany hummed as her eyes racked over the outfit and her brain automatically ranked it in the 'not hot' category.

"Hey, Ms M," the blonde girl greeted dully.

Ms Martinez flexed the fingers slightly and cocked her head to the side, watching the teenager intently. When it looked like Brittany was more than happy enough to stand in her spot all day, the teacher raised an eyebrow in question.

"Brittany, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm right in the middle of teaching a class."

Brittany blinked at the Biology teacher before adverting her eyes to a sea of young freshman faces staring up at her in undisguised interest. They all adorned the same lab coats, protective goggles and latex gloves as their teacher and Brittany's overactive imagination kicked into high gear. The kids before her eyes turned into ominous government scientists grinning madly at their latest victim; one Brittany Pierce.

The blonde's eyes widened like saucers. "DON'T PROBE ME!"

Before Ms Martinez could stop her, the dancer had turned tail and sprinted out of the room , screaming at the top of her lungs about not wanting to be genetically altered to fit the governments weird desire to have a fish people population at their disposal. The young woman sighed heavily, glanced to her frowning students who were probably wondering if the whole thing had been a joke, and then continued with her lesson. This happened weekly after all.

* * *

Artie moaned as Brittany kissed him with an urgency that had his head reeling - had his hands holding her steady in his lap as she straddled him on the bed. Their study session had run its course and now they found themselves in a position Artie had become intimately acquainted with once he had started dating the blonde. It had become second nature for his girlfriend to lift him out of his chair and deposit him on the bed, had become second nature to kiss furiously until Artie's parents came home from work. He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp tug at his bottom lip and he cried out slightly in pain.

"Ow- what the … ? Brittany?"

The dancer pulled away, eyes dark and miserable as she looked down at the boy. He was massaging his mouth slightly and pulled his hand away to inspect for blood. Finding none he looked up at his girlfriend accusingly and Brittany shied away from his expression.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Artie sighed heavily and sat up, making his girlfriend scoot over on the bed so that she was sitting at his side, their shoulders brushing as they both stared ahead. Brittany fiddled with her fingers and the disabled boy ran his tongue over his injured lip, wincing slightly at the sting.

"You ok?" he said finally.

"Not really," Brittany replied. She tucked her knees into her chest and rested her chin on them, curling her lips back in unease. "Have you ever felt like your entire life was just kinda falling around you, Artie? Like you were a monkey and someone was cutting down your forest home?"

Artie paused to think and nodded slowly. "Yeah, of course I have, Britt. But I had other monk- I mean _people, _there to help me ? What's going on?"

Brittany shrugged. She thought of Santana with Olive and shuddered violently, feeling her chest seize. She whimpered before succumbing to long overdue sobs as Artie watched on horrified, clearly at a loss on what to do. He settled for awkwardly putting his arms around his girlfriend and trying to soothe her pain with calm, reassuring words. They had never come to this obstacle in their relationship before. He noted for later that this was the first time he had ever seen Brittany cry, and cry so completely that it was wrenching his heart in half.

When the blonde had composed herself again, Artie rubbed her back warmly and pulled away from her to look into watering blue eyes. "What's this about, Brittany?"

There was a moment of weighing silence before Brittany slumped forward and told him everything. Told him of how Santana had come up to her, saying words that had made the blonde's heart soar, but how despite it all Brittany had picked him. How she still loved him but wasn't _in _love with him like she was with Santana. And while she divulged her best kept secrets her boyfriend remained perfectly still, listening rapturously without interrupting. The blonde found the words tumbling from her lips, found her story exploding from inside her recklessly. At the end of her explanation she was out of breath and drained, looking up into Artie's face fearfully.

All he said was: "We need to break up."

Several hours later Brittany was sitting on the porch steps outside Santana's house, chin in her hands as she waited for her best friend to arrive. Santana's mom had evasively told her that she had gone out with a friend and wouldn't be back for hours but Brittany had been staunch, telling the older Lopez that she'd wait.

She'd do anything for Santana.

The blonde sighed softly as she thought of Artie again. He had been a good boyfriend, certainly, but he had proved to be an even more amazing friend. They hadn't exchanged any bitter words, Brittany had simply kissed his cheek in thanks and he had asked if they would still be able to talk and hang out in school as friends. She knew she'd been lucky in that retrospect's because she hadn't really lost anything decidedly, apart from the sex, and Santana was the only one she wanted to do that with.

Grinning to herself as memories of lazy kisses shared between both girls surfaced in her mind, Brittany almost missed the sudden arrival of a car pulling into the Lopez's driveway. She jumped when she heard a car door slam and turned to watch her best friend walk up the drive with someone in tow.

Olive.

Brittany stared at her in astonishment and immediately felt her blood boil as deep rooted fury set in. Both girls were laughing but stopped abruptly when they noticed the blonde sitting on the porch, staring at them wordlessly.

"Brittany?" Santana asked. "What are you doing here? You have a dance class in half an hour."

Brittany picked at a loose thread in her jeans and shrugged. "I'm not going today."

Santana approached cautiously with Olive at her heels and sat down slowly at her best friends side, trying to catch the blonde's gaze but ultimately failing each time Brittany turned away from her probing brown orbs. Olive knelt in front of them both, cocking her head curiously at the scene playing before her eyes.

"Where were you?" Brittany ground out, surprising herself and Santana by the suddenly harsh tone. "I looked for you and … you weren't there."

Brittany raised her head to look her best friend in the eyes and felt some satisfaction in knowing that Santana understood the double meaning behind the sentence. They were so tightly intertwined there was almost no chance Santana had missed the message in her words. Where had she been before Artie? Where had she been when Brittany had looked for her, waited for her and loved her? The Latina bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly.

"Britt, I-"

She was interrupted by Olive, voice oozing satisfaction and pride. "We were out on a date." She kept talking, probably informing Brittany of what they had been doing but all the blonde could do was look up at the new girl in horrified silence.

She turned purposely to look at Santana, watched guilt and shame paint themselves on her friends face. There was accusation in Brittany's gaze, anger and sadness too. And healthy dollops of hurt. So much hurt. Santana had told her she was scared but where had she been today? On a date with Olive, another girl, and Brittany had been cast aside like yesterdays old news.

"Santana told me that you were her best friend," Olive continued and Brittany's attention snapped back to the New Yorker.

The blonde took a shaky breath. Her heart felt like it was tearing at her words. "Yeah. I'm her best friend."

The other girl grinned and offered her hand out to the dancer who shook it wearily. "It's nice to meet you, Brittany. I always make a point of asking a best friends permission before taking a pretty girl out." She shot Santana a warm look and Brittany's breath hitched.

"So, what do you say, Britt? Am I allowed to date Santana?"

The dancer struggled to speak for a moment. She wanted to shout 'No!', she wanted to beg Santana for her heart and push Olive out of their lives forever. But she glanced between both girls and saw Santana's softening eyes and Olive's genuine smile. Brittany had missed her chance. Somewhere along the lines she and Santana had rubbed against each other but had refrained from colliding. Maybe Brittany had to move out of the way this time and let Olive and her best friend decided whether they were going to take the plunge together.

She swallowed the huge lump in her throat and whispered softly, "Please take good care of her." Then, rising to her feet and ignoring Santana's pleas for her to stay, she marched down the drive with her hands stuffed in her pockets and her head bent low as she sobbed quietly.

She faintly heard Olive yell "I promise!" behind her. She would hold her to that.

* * *

A whirlwind of change swept through McKinley in the following weeks. She and Artie had broken up, Quinn seemed permanently attached to Rachel's hip as her new best friend, and Kurt had come back, as had Sue, this time with a vengeance. But the one change Brittany could still scarcely believe or comprehend, the one that had her staring at her ceiling long into the night; Santana Lopez had come out to the school as gay.

It created a commotion if there had ever been one. The club had accepted her happily, even as Puck had wailed about pushing his ex-girlfriend to the other team, but outside the choir room walls it was like all hell had broken loose. People muttered and slushie's flew. Like Santana had predicted people began to talk behind her back and Brittany had begun to find herself knocking each gossiper back into their lockers with furious threats. Even when angry though she only managed to look halfway threatening and most people just outright laughed in her face.

But Olive was there to support her girlfriend. She held her hand in the choir room and kissed her when it seemed like Dave had decided he had a personal vendetta against the Latina. Though it made her feel sick to see the two cuddled close in glee club, Brittany was thankful for Olive's presence in Santana's life. She was pushing her best friend forward, showing her that a few bigoted idiots wasn't the end of the world. In all Olive was keeping her promise and Brittany would always respect her for that.

And as a result Santana smiled more and, most importantly, she smiled more at Brittany.

Three weeks had trickled by when Quinn excitedly brought up the prom to a more or less indifferent glee club. Lauren had plainly told Puck that she didn't 'do dances', and Rachel had shrugged in her seat at Quinn's enquiry of whether she was going. The only couples who were certain of their attendance were Mike and Tina, Kurt who was bringing Blaine and Sam and a girl from his History class. Brittany had debated whether to ask Artie to go with her as friends but the boy had told her shyly of this girl he had met at his physical therapists that he endeavoured to ask.

So it seemed like Brittany was going to be sitting this one out. But, with a quick glance to her left, noticing the disgruntled look on Olive's face and Santana's blank features, it seemed like she wasn't going to be the only one.

She caught Santana at her locker at the end of the day and Brittany smiled at her in greeting as she spun her locker combination. The Latina looked nervous and Brittany shot her a look when her best friend jumped at the sound of a closing locker down the hall.

"What's up, Santana? You look a little jumpy."

The brunette looked up at her and the look in her eyes pierced Brittany to her core. She frowned at the Latina and took her hand gently, feeling her skin ignite at the touch. "You can tell me, San. It's ok."

Santana nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, yeah I know it is. It's just that Olive wants us to go to prom together and I …"

Brittany sighed. Olive was clearly pushing the girl a little too hard. There was so much exposure Santana could be put through before she cracked. A greedy little voice in the back of her head told her that if Santana had been with her, she wouldn't have dreamed of putting Santana through this unnecessary pressure. She squashed it down and rubbed her thumb along the back of her best friend's hand gently.

"You're not ready for that. I understand." The blonde smiled reassuringly at the clearly nervous girl.

Santana shook her head and struggled with herself for a moment before opening her mouth and saying the most striking words Brittany could ever imagine. "No … it's just I don't want to go to prom with anyone that isn't … you."

Before Brittany could gasp and launch herself at Santana, the Latina had wrenched her hand out of the dancer's grasp and fled from the hallway, quick strides taking her to the parking lot where Olive would be waiting for her. Brittany watched her go, flabbergasted and full of hope. But then reality crashed in around her and she shook her head furiously. Santana was happy. She wasn't going to go and mess it up.

Instead, she drove to pick up her little sister from her violin lesson and took the giggling seven year old to the ice-cream parlour to drown her sorrows in a pint of strawberry ice-cream. Then they'd driven home, Katie promising not to tell their mother on the phone tonight that they had pigged themselves before dinner. Brittany made her pinkie-swear and the youngest Pierce sister rolled her eyes but offered up her pinkie with a slight smile.

When Brittany had parked the car on the street, Katie had thrown her door open and jogged up to the front door of the house, disappearing inside with a shout. Brittany smiled at her sisters antics and collected her things, shouldering the girls schoolbag and carrying her violin case inside after her. Before she had even made it into the hallway, Katie had barrelled into her midsection and forcefully tugged her into the kitchen where their older sister sat at the island talking with another young woman.

Brittany gawked at the apparition of Olive in her kitchen, sharing a pot of coffee with the eldest Pierce sister as they chatted amicably.

Brittany's older sister Ella looked up from her conversation and smiled. "Hi, Britt. I was just talking with your friend here. What took you so long?"

Katie jumped into Ella's lap and bounced excitedly in place. "Brittany collected me from my violin lesson and then she took us for ice-cream! I had chocolate chip and the ice-cream man gave me a little heart shaped cup to eat it in."

Both Olive and Ella laughed at the buoyant child. "That's cool. Did you thank Britt?" The seven year old nodded happily. "Good girl. Now go do your homework and then I'll help you with your scales, k?"

Katie huffed and Brittany pat her head sympathetically when she passed her. The dancer took the unoccupied seat at the island next to her sister, greeting Olive softly as Ella ran a hand lovingly down her sisters back and smiled sadly down at her.

"I'll just leave you two to talk. I have some photographs upstairs that need developing for tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, Olive."

Olive nodded. "You too."

Ella kissed Brittany's forehead softly and drifted out of the room. Brittany watched her go silently and turned to Olive, seeing the girl wearing an expression of both envy and awe. Most people tended to look like that whenever they witnessed the three sisters interacting. They were extremely close. They had to be when their parents were only ever around thirty five percent of the time. The Pierce's were only home four months of the year, working all over the globe as wildlife photographers, leaving the task of handling the household to Ella. So it was no surprise that Brittany felt more connected to her sisters than to her parents - it was just because Katie and Ella had always stood at her side without fault.

"You're really lucky to have her," Olive said finally.

Brittany took a deep breath and said 'yeah' on an exhale.

There was a weighing silence. Olive was looking determinedly at the countertop and Brittany was staring at the ceiling, her brow furrowing as she wondered whether it had always been painted white. She was brought out of her reverie by the New Yorkers tentative voice bring her back to the present.

"I think you know why I'm here, Brittany." When no answer was forthcoming from the blonde Olive pushed on. "Santana told me everything."

That caught Brittany's attention. She dropped her head from the ceiling back to Olive's level, looking at her evenly and blankly as the other girl drummed her leg against the chair repeatedly.

"I moved out of the way," Brittany murmured. "I want her to be happy. She's happy with you."

Olive shook her head and her tone was brooding. "She's happy with the idea of me."

Brittany looked at her, perplexed, because though she had made some titanic efforts to understand she still sometimes felt stumped when people talked in that manner. The manner that over complicated simple things.

"There's only one person she really wants, Brittany. I think you know who that is."

Brittany stared at Olive numbly. Her brain had already grasped the answer but her heart refused to believe it. It had been battered and bruised too much to open up on a whim. She implored the New Yorker with eyes full of appearing tears and pain.

"This is me telling you that … _I'm _moving out of the way," Olive said softly.

* * *

Ella had decided to drop her into school the next day for reasons Brittany didn't have time to understand. She was too nervous to question anything. All she could think about was how this was the day. The day she was going to tell Santana that they _had _to be together. That they would never be truly happy or complete until they had each other.

Ella stopped the car outside the high school and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Brittany watched her usually incredibly poised and literate sister falter awkwardly for something to say.

"I … I had to pick up the pieces of your heart a lot these past few months," the eldest Pierce said finally. Brittany opened her mouth to respond but found that she had nothing to say. "And I just want to know for sure that Santana will not break it again today."

Brittany stared into her sisters comforting blue eyes and smiled sadly. "I really don't know for sure, Ell. But I'm willing to take that chance."

Ella nodded to herself as Brittany got out of the car and leaned into her sisters open window for her customary forehead kiss. She grinned at her older sister (who was more her mother than anything else) and stepped inside the high school with trepidation. Today could make her or break her.

The school was buzzing with the news that Santana Lopez and her girlfriend had split up the day before and now, an amazing number of guys and girls were all on the lookout for the Latina. Brittany saw her throughout the day being swamped by fervent admirers. She only hoped her best friend wouldn't accept any of them, at least until she got to glee.

Maybe it was luck, or a twist of faiths, but Brittany coincidentally had her first class with both Artie and Skip. She asked both boys whether they could miss the next period with the band and practice a song she had in mind for glee that afternoon. Skip had told her it was probably possible and by the time their class had finished they found the band in the auditorium already set up and ready to rock.

When Brittany had sat herself at Mercede's side in glee club she was confident in her plan and her ability to kill the song she had chosen. Well, kill in a good way anyway. So when everyone was seated - Santana choosing to sit in front and Olive moodily sitting at the top of the risers next to Lauren, Brittany stood in the middle of the floor after the nod from Will.

"Hi," she began shakily. "I'd like to sing a song for someone and I hope that they understand what I'm trying to say." She nodded at Artie who cued the band as he began to sing.

_Ba ba da da_

_Ba ba da da_

_Ba ba da da_

_Ba ba da da_

_Ba ba da da_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

_It's been some time since we last spoke_

_This is gonna sound like a bad joke_

_But momma I fell in love again_

_It's safe to say I have a new girlfriend_

There would be no over the top choreography in this performance. Just her voice and her heart handed on a silver platter. She walked across the floor as she sang, her feet skipping slightly over the ground as she stopped in front of Quinn and knelt in front of the girl, pretending that she was talking to her mother. Quinn and the others laughed which in turn made Brittany crack into a relieved smile.

_And I know it sounds so old_

_But cupid got me in a chokehold_

_And I'm afraid I might give in_

_Towels on the mat my white flag is wavin'_

She leapt away from the ex-head cheerleader and walked back up to Artie strumming happily on his guitar. She mimed getting chocked and back pedalled to the middle of the floor, spying Santana smiling so wildly it made Brittany's heart soar like a balloon.

_I mean she even cooks me pancakes_

_And Alka Seltzer when my tummy aches_

_If that ain't love then I don't know what love is_

She doubled over herself and held her stomach, smiling impishly to herself as she winked at Artie and Rachel giggling happily at Quinn's side. This was good. This was very good.

_We even got a secret handshake_

_And she loves the music that my band makes_

_I know I'm young but if I had to choose her or the sun_

_I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun_

Brittany skid across the flor on her knees to stop in front of the Latina who was looking at her so tenderly, so lovingly it made the blonde want to shiver. But instead she grabbed her best friends pinkie with her own and tossed her head towards the band. Then she reluctantly broke their contact and moonwalked back to the centre of the floor, much to Mike and Finn's delight.

New Directions joined in with Artie on the chorus and Brittany really let herself go when she saw that her plan was actually working. That her sister would not have to worry about picking up the pieces of her heart.

_(ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

_It's been awhile since we talked last and I'm tryin' hard not to talk fast_

_But dad I'm finally thinkin' I may have found the one_

_Type of girl that will make you way proud of your hun_

Brittany rose into the risers and sat next to Finn, watching as the rest of the club turned in their seats to watch the blonde sing to the boy. Finn and the others clapped along to the beat, grinning madly when Brittany pointed at Santana at the mention of the 'one'.

_And I know you heard the last song about the ones that didn't last long_

_But I promise this is on a whole new plane_

_I can tell by the way she says my name (ba ba da da)_

She quickly descended the risers and leaned across to Puck, pretending to swoon. He gawked at her and yelped when Lauren kicked the back of his chair with a snarl.

_I love it when she calls my phone_

_She even got her very own ringtone_

_If that ain't love then I don't know what love is (ba ba da da)_

Brittany made the international sign for a phone with her fingers and spun, winking at a blushing brunette in the first row who was squirming in her seat impatiently, wanting to re-establish contact between them both.

_It's gonna be a long drive home but I know as soon as I arrive home_

_And I open the door take off my coat and throw my bag on the floor_

_She'll be back into my arms once more for sure_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

There was an instrumental piece here that Brittany used to kneel in front of Santana and take her hands in her own. She grinned when she saw that perfect smile light the Latina's features and looked deep into the eyes that had always made her soul dance. She cupped the love of her life's cheeks softly with her hands and brought their foreheads together as she told the Latina everything she aspired for them. She watched Santana's eyes fill with tears as she spoke of their future, the future they hadn't been sure they would have together.

_She's got a smile that would make the most senile_

_Annoying old man bite his tongue_

_I'm not done_

_She's got eyes comparable to sunrise_

_And it doesn't stop there_

_Man I swear_

_She's got porcelain skin of course she's a ten_

_And now she's even got her own song_

_But movin' on_

_She's got the cutest laugh I ever heard_

_And we can be on the phone for three hours_

_Not sayin' one word_

_And I would still cherish every moment_

_And when I start to build my future she's the main component_

_Call it dumb call it luck call it love or whatever you call it but_

_Everywhere I go I keep her picture in my wallet like here_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

_Take a look at my girlfriend_

_She's the only one I got (ba ba da da)_

_Not much of a girlfriend_

_I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)_

She broke contact with the girl for a second time and spun to finish the song, taking her bow to a standing ovation and more than a few loud whistles from the guys. Then she hugged her ex boyfriend in happiness and shook Skip's hand with a muttered thank you.

The bell rang shrilly and Brittany checked her watch, wincing as she remembered that she had to meet with the Decathlon team coach before the period was over. Casting Santana an apologising look she thanked Will profusely and jogged out of the room to make it in time for the meeting. This was still part of her plan. Just another step for the future that she needed to take.

When she barrelled into the changing rooms, Brittany frowned incredulously at Ms Martinez who was in the middle or a pep talk with a couple of other girls. She had been looking for the team coach, not the woman who was so frustrated with her she never even corrected her assignments anymore. The Biology teacher groaned and threw her hands up in the air.

"Oh my god, Brittany! Unless you're here to try out for the Decathlon team, get out!"

A slow burn of recognition imprinted itself in Brittany's brain and she grinned at her teacher. "I am actually."

* * *

Ms Martinez had made them run suicides around the track and if there was one thing Brittany knew how to do post-Cheerio's, it was suicides. She'd lead the other girls in formation and by unanimous vote the team had nominated her as co-captain for the year and handed her a red letterman jacket that was almost identical to her old Cheerio one.

Brittany wore it proudly as she travelled down the hall to her locker. People turned to stare at her, saw that somehow Brittany Pierce had catapulted back into the high school hierarchy with the help of a letterman jacket and a new title. The crowds parted but Brittany was oblivious to it all, her concentration was captured entirely by the sight of Santana at her locker.

She quickened her step and stopped at her own locker, leaning against it as she gazed at her best friend in wonderment. Feeling that she was being watched Santana closed the locker and looked around, eyes widening as she took in the sight of Brittany smiling at her with so much tenderness it made her heart ache.

"Hi." Brittany's eyes twinkled.

Santana smiled shyly back and took the blonde's hand, eliciting an even wider smile from Brittany in response. "Hey."

"So … I joined the Decathlon team today. Made co-captain too." She looked down wordlessly at her outfit. "And that kind of makes me popular again. And popular kids don't slushie other popular kids."

Santana looked up sadly at her best friend, saw the innocence in those blue eyes. "Sometimes," she whispered.

"Not at me though. Everybody's too scared to slushie me because they know I'd kick their ass." Brittany chuckled and Santana laughed long and hard, leaning her forehead against the blonde's, their eyes connecting.

Breathing softly as they contemplated each other Santana let a faint smile light up her features in that way Brittany loved. She softly tipped the Latina's head back up to hers when Santana laughed nervously and tucked her chin into her chest, breath ghosting her mouth. There was just a few inches separating them now.

"I want you," Brittany murmured. "I want to be yours. I love you."

Santana let out a whimper and her wide eyes scanned the blonde's face for any trace of a lie in her expression. All she found was genuine truth like she had never known.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," the dancer pushed on. "I want to go to prom together. I want to hold your hand in glee club and go on dates to Breadstix." Santana giggled tearfully as she nuzzled her nose against Brittany's. "You're my first choice, Santana. Please say yes, _please_."

Santana wrapped her hands around the back of Brittany's neck and tugged her down into a fierce kiss that made fireworks erupt behind both girls eyelids. And as Brittany wrapped her own arms around her _girlfriend _(god, she'd never tire of saying that word) she thought there was nothing more wonderful in the entire universe than being able to whisper a thousand 'I love you's' to the girl she loved in front of her locker.

* * *

Things began to go more smoothly. The gay-bashing all but trickled to a halt following Dave Karofsky's 'coming out' of the proverbial closet. The jocks were too shocked to continue their attack now that one of their own had been classified in that category. Slushie's thankfully became beverages instead of missiles and Brittany could breathe more easily as she walked the halls with her girlfriend. Of course the whispers were still there (probably always would be) but now no one glared when she walked Santana to class and kissed her outside the doorway.

And if Brittany had thought Santana had been happy before with Olive, she was positively over the moon now. Smiles graced her beautiful face daily and she largely refrained from hurtling insults at Rachel or anyone else who rubbed her the wrong way. Instead, she found it increasingly more therapeutic to curl into Brittany's side and kiss along the blonde's neck, giggling when the dancer crooned her love in the Latina's ear.

They were perfect. It was everything Brittany could have ever wished for and more.

And now, they didn't just have sex, they made _love. _They clung to each other and took it slow, enjoyed each other and the emotions their actions evoked in each other. They were now two halves of the same whole. It really was better with eye contact, feelings and the breathy 'I love you, Britt' Santana panted in her ear.

And as Brittany watched Mercedes totally annihilate Lady Gaga's 'Paper Gangsta' (in the good way) ,Santana sitting on her lap, and her arms wrapped securely around her girlfriend's waist, the co-captain of the decathlon team smiled and nuzzled into soft hair.

"I love you so much," she murmured and felt Santana turn her head to look at her, eyes glittering and content.

"I love you too, Britt-Britt."

And in the middle of Mercedes awesome number and in front of all their friends, Santana kissed her.


End file.
